593
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HALL,OLIVERdate: ref:
oliverhall est: 100-200
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"Mausoleum, Banasea Park" (from the collection, "The Ancient Trees) Etching and drypoint, Signed lower left, under the image in pencil, , , , , 6 X 8 Inches, plus margins, , , In excellent condition, Unframed, NOTES ON THE COLLECTION: "The Ancient Trees"
As one gets older, one finds increasing appreciation for life that has stood the test of time and trials. From the collection of G. B. Tate & Sons comes a group of prints by various artists that has been collected over many years. This collection, known simply as "The Ancient Trees", is comprised of etchings and other print forms... never seen on the open market before and being offered here for the first time.
The heart of the collection is the group of etchings and linocuts by Lyman Byxbe, Colorado artist, and his associate, Birger Sandzen, well known American impressionist. These men didn't just take photographs from far off, they climbed the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana in search of the dramatic views and lasting images that can only be experienced first hand. They did many studies and etchings of the old trees... the ones that are found in the remotest reaches in the highest peaks, at or near the timberline, where very little vegegation grows, due to the rarified air and harsh elements. There is a place around 11,000 feet, where the air gets so thin, that plant life simply ceases to exist. Yet it's the old trees that have survived the longest... the old ones that have withstood the elements while generation after generation of men have come and gone. It has been discovered that the oldest living entity on earth, the Bristle Cone Pine, was living in the rocks of the highest peaks of Colorado since the time of Moses in the wilderness... and the very same trees are still living today... some approaching 5,000 years of age.
The evidence of trials can be seen in the twisted and convoluted forms of the old trees. In the harsh elements of high mountains, the wind blows with unmerciful force, seasons come and go when there is no waterfall. Roots must grow deep, as when it does fall, the water usually sifts through the rocks quickly and disappears into underground caches. Snow weighs heavily on the branches of these trees in seasons where it is measured in feet, not inches. At times, the trees are buried completely and may not see light again for weeks or even months. And yet, under the harshest of conditions, these marvelous forms of life stand their ground, and thrive in the process. Their beauty is in their scars, twists and bends. As people, we can learn something from these trees... that we can come through the seasons of our own lives, and take on a patina that expresses the inner beauty of survival under our own harsh circumstances.
These artworks are expressions of the kind of spirit that we admire most in these trees that have faced the elements in their worst form, and survived... a little like us, when we face the trials of our lives and come out the other side as winners.
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